The Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA) held their public, town-hall style meeting last night, which was well attended.  The Tallahassee Democrat reported over 100 people in the audience. 

 

Some very well informed people from the audience asked questions which supported their skepticism about the biomass project proposed by BG & E, and approved in FSU’s Campus Master Plan. 

 

Some of the people at the front table had done their homework and many of us in the audience shook our collective heads when some others spoke, wondering why they had been invited in the first place. 

 

The moderator, Marjorie Turnbull, did a commendable job in letting individuals have the floor without interruptions from either side. 

 

Lesson Learned: 

  • The process for siting a small energy producing plant in Florida appears to be inadequate to address the necessary health, environmental and community concerns. 
  • The implementation of the Campus Master Plan as an effective tool to allow universities, large land-holding institutions, to plan for growth and development outside the local planning process was not intended to adequately plan for something like a power plant siting in a residential neighborhood.  It was intended to plan for future land use including classrooms, housing, research facilities, infrastructure (including roads and the traffic it creates), conservation, recreation and open space, parking facilities and all other things normally associated with a university’s growth.  The 6C-21, Florida Administrative Code governs Campus Master Plans. https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ChapterHome.asp?Chapter=6C-21
  • Some of the Guest Panelists added no substantive information
  • Many residents and other interested audience participants did their homework before coming
  • The City of Tallahassee has studied alternative sources of energy, including solar, geothermal, wind, tidal and biomass, with emphasis on demand management and conservation. Solar PVE was determined not cost effective in today’s market, while solar thermal is considered cost effective.

 

The meeting started with a lengthy, overview of what is biomass by Ben Cowart, Department of Energy Services for the City of Tallahassee.  Here’s a clearer, shorter biomass 101 from Wikipedia. 

 

At the end of the meeting, it was confirmed by BG & E official, Glenn Farris, that the sources of the biomass to gasify in the proposed plant has not been secured as of yet.  [BiomassGasElectric, Inc.

 

Much talk of the City’s dependence on natural gas as a source of generating electricity and the fact that the proposed biomass plant will assist the City in its quest to diversify.  When questioned, Mr. Cowart indicated that the biomass plant may provide up to 5% of the City’s baseload requirements.  “This would help hold rates flat” Mr. Cowart said.  However, no one asked the question would the 5% significantly offset the upward movement of prices for natural gas, long term.  Mr. Cowart also offered, “natural gas is not that clean (an energy source).”  He also indicated that, at this point in time, there is no committed supplier of product for fuel the plant. 

 

There was also discussion of the ash by-product of the gasification, how it would be transported off-site daily—or nightly—by trucks.  “Where” the ash will be transported to has not been determined, according to Mr. Cowart.  The question: Will it go into the County’s landfill? remained unanswered.  The audience murmured when he referred to the smell of this by-product to be “not unlike turpentine.” 

 

How was the site on Roberts Avenue selected?  Mark Bertolami, FSU’s Facilities Planning and Space Management Director, described the Campus Master Planning requirements and how all requirements were legally fulfilled, including the requirement that the Plan ‘not being in conflict with local comprehensive plans.’  He held up a clipping of the public notice from the Tallahassee Democrat.  When questioned by the audience about the number of people who actually attended the pubic hearings on the plan, Mr. Bertolami indicated less than ten at the first meeting, less than 20 at the second meeting, but that the full plan is available online. http://www.facilities.fsu.edu/SpaceMgt/MP_docs/GOP/SWC_OVERVIEW2008.pdf

 

Despite a lengthy explanation of the traffic generated by FSU students and the need to mitigate the impacts on local roads, several members of the audience had questions related to how notice was given, and if the notice included any mention of a proposed biomass plant.  Mr. Bertolami said the notice did not reference the proposed plant, nor any of the other proposed projects within the Plan.  The notice referenced only the geographic location affected by the Plan.  The details of each of the projects was included in the document that was forwarded to the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department for staff review. 

In the current site zoning, there is no requirements that regulate noise.  Wayne Tedder, Planning Department Director, indicated that in negotiations between the Planning Department and FSU, “certain limits” on noise were agreed upon by BG & E.  Glenn Farris, CEO of BG &E said the site at FSU had access to rail, ease of energy transmission, and the amount of land needed to build the plant. 

 

How many jobs will be created?  There was one reference from Mr. Farris that “ten or so” jobs would be created, thus not creating additional traffic to the residential streets.  No discussion was conducted regarding the truck traffic generated by vehicles hauling away the ash by-product. 

 

Is the proposed project in accordance with the current Southern  Strategy, adopted by the City and County?  The Southern Strategy is a sector planning approach adopted in 1998 as a part of the local comprehensive plan.  The purpose was to encourage growth in the southern part of the City and County to balance the rapid growth in areas in the north and east.  The area is 17.5 square miles. More information about the area is available in the Southern Strategy Report.

 

Dot Inman-Johnson, Director of Capital City Community Action and former City Commissioner and Mayor, said that the proposed biomass plant did not comply with the Southern Strategy that included a commitment to avoid new heavy industry being located inside the designated area, that suburban use is the current designation of this area.  Ms. Inman-Johnson said she had walked the property on Roberts Avenue and looked at the proximity of houses to the site.  She thought the proposal did not provide an “adequate buffer” to noise, lighting or view of the plant from neighboring backyards.  She questioned whether more concern was given to environmental and flood plain issues than to the health of the community members, in response to her questions regarding the City and County’s  consideration of alternative sites. 

 

Are there alternative locations for the biomass plant?  Terrance Hinson, Owner of Hinson Realty and also a 2007-2008 member of the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Commission, asked if there was a way to site the plan at Hopkins Power Generating Station, an 230 acre site located seven miles west of Tallahassee on Geddie Road. 


Mr. Tedder indicated that several sites have been reviewed by the City and County.  The Hopkins Power site has significant environmental concerns and land there has been held vacant by the City with the intent of future plant expansion.  Mr. Farris said that the location of the CSX train tracks adjacent to the proposed site was 90% of the impact of the project. There would not be the easy availability to rail at the Hopkins site. 

 

What about environment justice?  Wilson Barnes, Tallahassee Branch of the NAACP, expressed his concerns about the impact of the plant’s emissions on the children, noting that three schools were located one mile from the site and one school was about 1.5 miles from the site.

“Very clearly, this is the wrong place for it in the community,” said Mr. Barnes.  He questioned “the justice of siting more than 80% of the dumps, biological waste disposal facilities, incinerators and land fills in poor Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in America.”   Others in the audience expressed concerns related to the health of children and the elderly as a result of small particulate matter being released into the air and the disproportionate impact of power plants on the poor.  Deb Swim, Environmental/Energy Attorney and former staff of Legal Environmental Assistance Fund (LEAF), stated that perhaps the public meeting being held that night should have been the type of discussion to have taken place previously, that although FSU was not legally required to hold additional public meetings or provide public notice about the proposed plant, it would have brought people into the discussion much earlier.  Ms. Inman-Johnson said that “environmental justice was the reason she had come to the meeting.”  She said that the impact of the plant on the whole community should be taken into account. One audience member offered that “somebody dropped the ball on FSU being a good and responsible neighbor.”  Rob Brinkman, Gainesville, said that a 100 megawatt biomass plant had recently been approved in Gainesville and that the Tallahassee discussion was “much ado about nothing.”  [According to PublicPower.com The Gainesville City Commission voted in May 2008 to negotiate with Nacogdoches Energy LLC to build a 100 megawatt biomass fueled power plant and to purchase all of the unit’s power output.  It is projected the new plant, to be build on the Gainesville Regional Utilities existing Deerhaven Generating Station will be online in 2013.

 

What will FSU receive from BG & E in exchange for allowing the plant to sublease the property on Roberts Avenue?  Mr. Farris told the audience that FSU did not receive anything from the company.  He then went on to add that FSU will get a grant for research for the study of advanced biomass systems. 

 

Was adequate notice of the project provided to the neighborhoods in proximity to the site?  Mr. Tedder said that notice regarding local planning went well beyond what state statutes required.  Ms. Inman-Johnson said that, at a minimum, residents within 1,000 feet of the site should have received notification. 

 

What are the potential health implications?  Alex Mahon, Environmental Manager for the Leon County Health Department said this is not something his Health Department is involved in and had nothing more to offer the conversation. Air quality questions were directed to Al Linero, Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).  Mr. Linero’s initial statement was that there were “not as many (environmental) requirements because the facility is small” and therefore “there would be relatively low impact.”  None of the panelists answered the question from the audience about who is responsible is people do get sick from particle pollution or if 60 pounds of particles a day are emitted into the air how will this affect the surrounding residents and the City as a whole?  An audience member also asked about the discharge from the stacks, what were the height of the plumes projected to be created, what particles would fall back into the immediate area and what particles would be discharged into the air stream.  In answer, Mr. Farris indicated that the disbursement model had not been completed.”  When questioned how an application could be submitted to DEP without this and other information about the impacts of the plant, Mr. Farris indicated that the application had been submitted to DEP and was awaiting approval.  One questioner asked that BG & E collect this additional information from pending studies and withdraw its current application and reapply to DEP with an application that contained this more complete data.  Mr. Farris said, “BG &E cannot do that.”  The final hearing on the air permit application submitted to DEP will be in April or May.  This approval is needed to go forward with the project. 

 

What are the potential noise impacts?  Mr. Tedder indicated that the 55 decibels limit standards do not apply to railroad facilities (CSX) and that the original plan did not address the noise levels of operation of the plant.  He said that, through negotiations, a level of up to 64 decibels in the daytime (up to 10:30 PM) was set.  Mr. Farris indicated that the plant would generate an increase in noise of two to three decibels, but that no study had been completed to document the noise level generated by activities at the plant.  

 

What about odors emitted from the plant?  There was a discussion between Mr. Linero and the audience regarding “objectionable odors” who they would be documented to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), how inspectors would very the odor and that it was objectionable, how the offending facility would be notified and asked to remedy the situation. 

 

What is the impact of the proposed plant on water quality?  Drainage of water into the Lake Munson basin, which is already polluted would contradict the on-going efforts to remove pollution from this water system.  No answer was forthcoming from the panelists. 

 

A final hearing on the proposed plant will be held by the City Commission on January 28th.  The Campus Master Plan, which includes the biomass project, has already been approved. 

 

In closing, City Commissioner Andrew Gillum made some remarks and agreed with the audience that the public input process could have been “a lot better” and that “lack of transparency” in the process is a big concern.  He said he was committed to continuing to look at options, including the Hopkins site as a possible alternative location for the project, but also cautioned that he could not speak for the other Commissioners.  He said that he understood the importance of “meeting energy needs of citizens as a whole, while meeting the needs of the people in the community.”   Also, in the audience were County Commissioner, Cliff Thaell and newly elected County Commissioner, Akin Akinyemi.